Amusement device



C. F. MORGAN.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLICATION HLED FEB.24, I919.

Patented Feb. 17; 1920.

IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY CHARLES F. MORGAN, OF DAYTON OHIO.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

Application filed February 24, 1919. Serial No. 278,901.

To all whom it may 00 rwem:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. MoRGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State'of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Amusement Device, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for the amusement of children and is particularly well adapted to childrens playgrounds and the like. While capable of aifording a very active and exciting form of amusement it is so constructed as to render any injury to the children using it practically impossible.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 1s an elevation of my device showing by full lines its normal position and in dotted lines the effect of rotating the platform around the mast.

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

The vertical mast 10 is set in the ground in any suitable manner, or if the device is to be portable it may be mounted on some form of base to rest on the floor or ground. The mast may be steadied by guy wires 11. On the mast is mounted a sleeve 12, adapted to rotate and slide freely thereon. This sleeve, which I will hereinafter refer to as the ournal, has ears 13, to which are bolted radiating girders 1 1. At their outer ends these girders carry an annular wall; 15. The bearing, girders and walk constitute what I will hereinafter call a platform, which, as will be seen, is arranged to rotate on the mast. This walk consists of stringers 15 extending from girder to girder near their outer ends and secured to the girders, and radially disposed flooring boards 15 secured to the stringers, the whole forming a light but rigid platform. Vertical rods 16, attached to the outer ends of the girders extend upward and at their upper ends are joined by horizontal rods 17 which form a polygonal frame. Attached to the upper ends of the rods 16 there are other rods 18, which extend inward and upward and are united at their inner ends by a ring 19, this ring being connected to the journal 12 by vertical rods 20. The resulting structure is very strong and rigid and yet light. At the top of the mast there is a cap 21 fixed to the mast by a pin 22, which cap has cars 23. Cables 24 attached to these ears are fastened at their lower ends to the upper ends of the rods 16, the length of the cables being such as to suspend the platform just ofi of the ground.

The normal position of the structure is shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and when it is rotated in either direction the cables wind around the mast and raise the structure as is shown by dotted lines in this figure. Since rotating the structure raises it, gravity will cause it to rotate in the opposite direction, and if allowed to rotate freely it will acquire such a momentum by the time the cables are unwound that it will continue rotating and wind the cables on the mast in the opposite direction, but not so far, of course, as they were wound at first. Enough energy may be stored by the first winding, however, to oscillate the structure a number of times. Because of its lightness it is possible for even small children to operate the device, and the journal 12 holds the platform perfectly level, so that there is no danger of children being hurt by the device tipping or swinging laterally. It will be observed that the rods 17, acting as tension members, and rods 18 acting as comp ression members, with the ring 19, form what may be termed a polygonal truss, which supports the central-part of the platform and prevents its sagging. In the drawing the ring 19 is shown as a journal and it contributes somewhat to the stability of the structure, although with a little reflection it will be seen that a bearing at this point is not essential.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention it is not to be inferred that I limit myself to the details of construction described. Furthermore, while I have described the device as for the use of children in playgrounds and the like it is not necessarily limited in its application to these uses, as by building it on a larger scale it may be adapted to use in places of public amusement where a charge is made for its use.

What I claim as new and desire to patent is as follows:

1. An amusement device comprising a vertical mast, a journal thereon, girders secured to and radiating from said journal, vertical rods attached to and extending upward from the outer ends of said girders, horizontal rods-connecting the upper ends of said vertical rods and forming a polygonal frame; rods attached to the upper ends of said vertical rods, extending inward and upward and attaching to a ring surrounding the shaft; Vertical rods connecting said ring to the journal; and cables attached to the upboth to rotate and slide up and down on the mast, a plurality of girders rigidly fixed to the journal so that they radiate hori zontally therefrom, and an annular walk built on the outer ends of the girders, the girders and Walk combining to form a rigid platform structure; and cables attached to the top of the mast and the perimeter of the platform, whereby the platform is suspended near the ground, the cables being adapted to Wind around the mast'when the platform is rotated and lift the platform more or less according to the distance it is rotated.

CHARLES F. MORGAN. 

